Firearm



Dec. 19, 1944. G, SEW 2,365,440

FIREARM Filed Nov. 3, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR, JbH/v 6. 35/72.

A 7' TORNE Y5 Dec. 19, 1944.

J. a. SEITZ 2,365,440

FIREARM Filed Nov. 3, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR, .fo/r/v G, Sis/r2 ATTORNEK') Patented Dec. 19, 1944 FIREARM John G. Seitz, San' Francisco. Calif., assignor to Samuel I. Keene, San Francisco, Calif.

Application- November 3, 1943, SerialNo. 508,773-

7 Claims;

This invention relates generally to firearms, and more specifically to: the. firing mechanism. of asmall arm that is. trigger actuated for firing.

Lam aware that attempts. have been made to provide a. small arm with. a trigger actuated fir mechanism which the piece can be fired: by

retractingthe trigger in the usual manner or by releasing the retracted trigger, as desired. However, insofar as I know, the means heretofore proposed tor accomplishing this result does not. efiect. a complete conversion of the firing mechanism from one type of actuation thereof to. the other and vice versa. Instead, in prior attempts, the operator must manually rei-set an element or elements after each firing: in. order to enable firing by a release of the trigger: as disfore suggestedare. so readily operated as tobe inadvertently manipulated without knowledge. of the. operator, and nothing indicates the occurrence, of such manipulation Thus the operator cannot be: sure how the firing mechanism will be released, whether by a retraction of the trigger or by a release thereof after such retraction. The menace of such. a mechanism is too apparent. to

requirefurther comment. Also, I am not aware that. any safety. means has been heretofore devised for a, firing meche anism that is actuatable by releasing the. trigger or by retracting the latter. Conventional firing mechanisms actuatable for firing by manual force applied to. retracting thetrigger'are to some extent safety devices in themselves, since the firing is. dependent upon an actual application of force. to the trigger. However, where the firing is. done by a release of the trigger after a retraction; the problem of providinga safety means is quite different. It is simplicity itself to provide means for obstructing the retraction. of a trigger or to secure the cocking piece or hammeragainst release by retraction. of a trigger. But where the firing mechanism is actuated by releasing the retracted trigger, and. the trigger is retracted. and is manually held. preparatory to a release. for firing, the provision of" some means that can. be actuated in safety at this; point to permit. release of the trigger without actuating; the firingmechanism. is a quite: difierent problem. In: one case the operator merelyneeds to refrain from pullin the. trigger to: prevent; firing, but in the other case, where the trigger has been; pulled and the release of the hammer or: cooking piece. is to be effected byrelease. or the: trigger, the operation has. proceeded to-the: point. where operator has no choice: butto fire the piece theabsence'oi some readily and safely actuatabl'e safety'means;

Oneoii the objects: of this invention. is the provision of means. for effectively and quickly converting a firing mechanism from. the type. actuatablezby retraction of the trigger to; one; that. is actuatable by releaseof: the. retracted trigger and vice versa.

Another object is. the provision of efiective and easily actuatable safety means for. rendering. safe a mechanism that is. ccnvertable from one type of actuation to another as has been: above mentioned.

A still turther object is the provision of; arr im.- proved safety. mechanism for a firing mechanism that is; actuatable for firing by the release of a retracted trigger and which safety device is; directly on. the pistol grip: of: a. firearm as. distinguished from. the more horizontal. stock. portion.

Other objects and advantages will. appear in the description and. drawings- In the drawings.

Big. L is 8;. fragmentary elevational view of the portion of; a conventional rifle: in which my-invention is incorporated, part of: the bolt arm being broken away to show the element for effecting a conversion or the. firingmechanism that. is adapted. to be manipulated by the fingers.

Fig. 2 a vertical sectional view taken through the portion of Fig.1 but. with most. or the firing mechanism shown in elevation.

Fig. 35 is a, vertical sectional: view similar to that. of Fig. 2: except that. certain elements. of. the firing; mechanism and safety device are. in. section.

Fig. 4 is; a fragmentary sectional View taken along;line:4-4 of Fi 3.

Fig: 5 is a. fragmentary sectional view taken along line- 5 -51 of Fig. 31 but with the stock and housing for the firing. mechanism omitted.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along: line 6'--E OfFi'g. 2..

Fig. T is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line I -J of Fig; 6.

Inthe: description, where the words forward" or forwardly, or where the words rear or reawardly are used, they designate positions relative to the muzzle and butt of the firearm, the former bein the foremost end.

In detail, the firearm illustrated comprises a stock provided with a pistol grip portion 2, cooking piece 3, tri ger 4, bolt 5, and the usual barrel extending forwardly of the bolt. The elements of the firing mechanism that are between the trigger and cooking piece are positioned in chamber i that is rearwardly of the magazine 8. The term cocking piece refers to the hammer, firing pin, or the like. chamber is directly below cocking piece 3 and the lower wall In is the upper side of the trigger uard bow The forward wall |2 of the chamber separates it from the magazine and the stock is cut away in the usual manner to provide the rear side I3 and opposed lateral sides l4, l5 of said chamber (Fig. 6).

The pistol grip portion 2 of the stock may be recessed to receive a housing l6, theforward side of which may be slotted for generally oscillatory movement of a, safety actuating lever therein transversely thereof, and which lever closes the slot at all times. The safety device that includes lever I! will later be described more in detail.

The housing I6 is preferably substantially adjacent the trigger guard bow H, and the upper wall I8 is substantially a rearwardcontinuation of a rearward extension I!) of the upper side of the guard bow (Fig. 3).

The upper side 9 of the chamber 1 is apertured in the usual way for upward passage therethrough of the sear nose for engagement by the latter in the sear notch 2| that is rigid with the cocking piece. This sear notch is conventional, as is the sear nose.

Sear 22 is a horizontally elongated member carrying the sear nose at its rear end, said sear having a vertical, open ended passageway 22' formed therein forwardly of said sear nose (Fig. 3) and forwardly of said passageway the sear is pivotally secured by a horizontal pin 23 to the upper side of chamber 8 at a point adjacent the forward end of said chamber. The sear extends slightly past said pin forwardly therefrom as at 24, and a spring 25 interposed between said part 24 and the wall 9 tends to yieldably urge the sear nose 20 upwardly at all times.

The trigger 4 extends through an opening in the upper side ll! of the guard bow into chamber 7, and carries a block 26 adjacent its upper end rigid therewith (Fig. 2). This block 26 is formed at its upper end with a pair of spaced, opposed,

upstanding ears 21, 28 (Fig. 5) that are at opposite sides of the sear 22 at the point where passageway 22' is formed in the latter. The ear 2'! extends slightly rearwardly with respect to the ear 28, although their opposed sides are parallel.

The trigger 4 porjects at its upper end into the passageway 22' and said upper end is slotted to provide opposed side walls 30 (Fig. 5) between which extends the forward end portion 3| of a link 32. The forward end of portion 3| is pivot ally secured to one end of a cam member 53 by a pin 33 as will be later described more in detail.

The rear end of link 32 is formed with a vertically opening closed slot extending longitudinally. of the link. A bolt 34 extends from the rearward extension IQ of the guard bow I through said slot in link 32 and is threadedly secured at its upper end in the rear end of the upper side 9 of chamber I. On this bolt and in said slot The upper wall 9 of said .justing screw 43 that is threaded into the rear end of said sleeve (Figs. 3, 5). The pin 42 is adapted to engage a flat rear surface on sleeve 35 above the ear 36, and this forms a yieldable connection between the link 32 and sleeve 35 that is rigid on post 34. The sleeve 4| rides on ear 36 or on the upper end of lever l1, thus the link 32 is supported at its rear end for'reciprocation longitudinally thereof when the trigger is actuated, as will be explained later on.

Below sleeve 35, and integral therewith if desired, is a block that is apertured for bolt 34. This block extends forwardly of the bolt 34 and is formed with a horizontal bore opening outwardly of its forward end toward the trigger 4.. A spiral spring 46 is in saidbore and reacts between the closed end thereof and a pin 41 that projects from the forward open end of said bore and into engagement with a lateral extension 48 on block 26. As block 26 is rigid with the trigger, the spring 46 thus functions to yieldably urge the trigger to its forward position preparatory to manipulation of the same by. the trigger finger. This spring is the one that causes release of the cooking piece when the trigger is retracted and the adjustment is made for the actuation of the firing mechanism by movement of the trigger toward its normal forward position.

While I have specified the block 26 as being rigid with the trigger, the said block is adapted to be moved transversely of the upper end of the trigger, but said block will move with the trigger as though it were rigidly formed therewith upon any oscillatory movement of the latter.

The ear 2! of block 26 carries a pin 50 that projects laterally therefrom generally toward the other ear, while ear 28 of block'26 carries a pin 5| that projects generally toward ear 21. The angularity between the ears 21, 28 is such that the pins 5|], 5| arespaced apart and are parallel with the pin 50 being rearwardly of pin 5| (Figs. 2, 5). The pins 5|], 5| are of the same length, and each is just sufiiciently long to extend through the sear 20 and into both sides of the passageway 22', said sides being apertured for said pins. However, the ears 21, 28 are spaced apart slightly more than twice the width of sear .22, and the free ends of the pins 50, 5| are spaced at opposite sides of a plane bisecting the space between said ears (Figs. 5, 6)

Above the forward end of link 32 the upper.

end of the trigger is formed with a, cylindrical is a sleeve 35 that has a, rearward extension 35 cross element 52 that is apertured in alignment with the pin 50 and with the apertures therefor that arein the sides of passageway 22.

A cam member 53, to which link 32 is connected as has been mentioned in describing the link, is rotatably carried on a hollow bushing 5|. This bushing is secured at its ends to the sides 30 of the slot that is in the upper end of the trigger, and the bore through the bushing is adapted to receive the pin 5|, since the bushing is coaxial with the pin when the trigger is in its forward, normal position.

A pin 55 is positioned below the-forward end of link 32, and isv secured at its ends to the ears 2? and 28 of block 26. This pin extends slidahly through the trigger andcoacts with either the pin 5001' pin 5i" to hold the block in the proper position' on the trigger.

Either the pin 58 or the pin. 51 extends through the upper end of the trigger, according to whether block 26 is moved laterally so that ear 7.! is adjacent searzzi (Fig. 5) or whether ear 28 is adjacentthe sear. Whenpin 50 extends through the trigger, as in the drawings, this pin is the fulcrum or pivot on which the trigger is adapted to swing. If pin 51 in bushing 5|, and consequentl y extends through the trigger, then the trigger will swing about it.

Themovement of the block 26 to one side or the other is eflected by means of spaced arms 60 "that project across opposite sides of said block in grooves 6| formed in said sides (Fig. 2)". These grooves are so formed asto permit reciprocation of the block and sliding engagement with the arms during said reciprocation.

The arms 60 are carried on a sleeve 62 that is rotatable and longitudinally slidable on a bushing 63 secured to wall M of chamber 1. A pin 64 is secured to sleeve 62 and projects radially inwardly therefrom through a slot 65 in bushing 63 that extends longitudinally of the latter (Fig.

7). The inner end of said pin 64 extends past said slot and into a spiral groove 66 in the outer side of a shaft 61 that is coaxial with sleeve 62 (Fig. 7).

The shaft 6! is rotatably supported at its ends inthe sides l4, I5 of the chamber 1, one end having a disk 68 formed integral therewith and seated in a circular recess in the outer side of wall It. The bushing 63 may be extended into said recess to form a bearing for said disk, the outer side of the latter being flush with the outer side of wall 15. The portion 69 of said bushing is parallel with disk 68 and in the base of the recess in which the disk is positioned, and may carry the indicia R, and C thereon, which indicia are respectively adapted to be uncovered by an aperture in disk 88 upon a predetermined degree of rotation of the latter (Fig. 1). In Fig. 1 the letter R appears, meaning that the adjustment is. made so that the firing mechanism will be actuated upon release of the retracted trigger. If the disk were turned clockwise through substantially a. full turn until the letter C appeared, it would mean that the firing mechanism is adjusted for compression fire.

Secured to the periphery of disk 68 is a small arm I! that projects radially outwardly therefrom, and which arm is pivoted to the disk so that the outer end can be swung to a position at right angles to the disk for turning the latter. Said arm may be yieldably or frictionally held either in a recess 12, as shown in Fig. 1, or in a recess 13 when the disk is turned for compression fire.

The conversion from release fire to compression fire is accomplished by-reason of the axial movement of pins 5!}, 5| through the shifting of arms Bil laterally as the pin 54 is moved axially of shaft 61 upon rotation of the latter by handle 1!.

Referring back to the safety lever I1, I provide a rearward projection 8!) on the upper end thereof. This projection has a notch 8| formed in its outer end (Fig. 2), and which notch is so positioned that a swingingv of lever l'l rearwardly will move the notch upwardly and into the path of the; rear end 39 of link 32 after the trigger has been retracted and the. link is ready for forward movement with; the trigger under influence of spring: 46. If. thelever I! is in the position shown in. Fig; 3*, which is; the normal forward position thereof, the end 3.901 the link will not be caught in. the notch Bzl, hence the sear will not be released; However, if the end: 39 is caught by the notch, assuming the lever I1 is; swung into housing; L6,. then the cam member 53' with which link 32: is pivotally connected, will be actuated upon a: return. of: retracted trigger-to pullithesear down and to thereby disengage the sear nose 20 from the sear notch 2 ll, "thus releasing the cooking piece. The reason for this actuation is that the cam. 53 is. revolved downwardly and rearwardly about; shaft 50; when the trigger is retracted and the major axis of the cam approaches vertical. in which position the high point on the cam is directed upwardly. Uponi'a. return of the trigger;

the lower end of the; cam will be held so that its high. side will come into engagement with the upper side 9 of chamber I. This engagement oc.- curs before the trigger reaches the position shown in the drawings; thereby forcing the sear down upon continued movement of the trigger to its normal. inoperative position.

When the: disk 68 is rotated for moving the pin 5|. through bushing 51' so that the pivot. point is changed, itlbeing seen that pin 5!) will then be inoperative, a retraction of the. trigger will swing the cross member 52 into engagement with the. top of chamber 1, thus directly pulling the sear nose down as the trigger continues to swing rearwardly. In the case of compression fire, the usual safety 90 (Fig. 1) will function as a safety, if desired. Such safety is conventional, the one illustrated being that on the 1903 model U. S. Army Springfield rifle.

The safety lever H is spring urged forwardly onpivot 38 by a coil spring 9 (Fig. 3) that reacts against a reciprocably supported plunger. 92.-

Plunger- 92 in turn engages a head 93 of a pin that is carried by the lower end of an elongated member 94.

This member 94 generally follows the longitudinal contour of' the lever I! and is pivoted to said lever at its upper end by a pivot pin 95 for lateral swinging of the lower end of said member. Also, member 94 normally projects forwardly of the forward side of the pistol grip 2 and from the slot in the forward side of the housing 16. A facingelement 96 may extend longitudinally of the forward side of member 94 (Fig. 4) and may laterally extend slightly beyond the lateral dimensions of the said member so as' to provide shoulders 91 that will engage the forward side of housing l6 at opposite sides of slot 98 upon rearward swinging of' the safety lever, thus forming a stop for the lever.

The lower end of lever I1 is formed with a slot 99 (Fig. 4) that extends transversely of the length of the lever, and a restricted diameter neck on the pin carrying head 93 is in said slot, the head 93 of said pin being at one side of the slot adjacent plunger 92 and the lever itself being on the other side.

The outer or forward end of plunger 92 is conical, and the outer or rear end of the head 93 is slanted to correspond to one of the slanted sides of the forward end of said plunger (Fig. 4-). The force of the plunger against the slanted end of head 93 will cause member 94 to be swung on post 95 to one side a sufiicient distance to move part of the rear surface of member 94 over the housing I6 at one side of slot 98. Hence if the member: 96 is urged straight back, the member 94 cannot move into the slot and this is important since it materially reduces the chance of the lever I! being accidentally. swung rearwardly. However, the outer face of the element 90 is serrated so as to form vertical grooves, and Whenthe middle finger of the operator extends across this face and normally grips the pistol grip, the lever will be pulled slightly to one side and over the slot 98 to readily move into said slot, thus moving the projection 8| on the upper end of said lever upwardly into the path of end 39 of link 32 when the firing mechanism is set for firing by release of the trigger.

The lever 94 as seen in Fig. 4 is particularly I adapted for use by a right handed person, and upon each firing the right hand will, of course, release the lever and operate the conventional bolt handle shown in Fig. 1.

It is clear from the foregoing explanation that the compression firing may be accomplished in the usual manner, in which case safety lever I1 is inoperative.

As a further safety feature, I may secure to housing I6 at the lower end of the slot in its forward side a small arm I that is pivoted thereto intermediate its ends by a pivot IOI. This arm has an upper end I02 that may be swung to a position obstructing rearward swinging of the lower end of lever I! when the lower end of said arm is swung in one direction, but when the lower end is swung in the opposite direction, the slot is cleared for swinging of the lever I1 as described.

Operation of the trigger 4 for either compression fire or for release firing may be easily prevented by rotating the disk (Fig. 1) until the arm or handle I2 is over the notch I05, and then swinging the handle partially into said notch to hold the disk against accidental turning. This movement will bring both of the pins 50, 5f into the sear, thus preventing rotation of the trigger about either of said pins.

Thus I provide a single movable means that is operable for converting the firing mechanism into one of the compression fire type, or into a release fire type, or one that is locked against either type of firing. Once the mechanism is converted from one type to the other it will remain converted until the conversion means is actuated manually.

It is also pertinent to note that the safety lever I'I shown herein is combined with a true pistol grip in which the latter has a substantially vertical forward face that is adapted to be quickly engaged by the hooked fingers of the hand for pulling the stock against theshoulder even without gripping the pistol grip, although the latter may be gripped firmly in a movement that is simultaneous with moving the stock against the shoulder or at any time.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a firing mechanism including a cocking piece, a single sear for releasably holding said cocking piece cocked, a finger retractable trigger that is spring urged to a normal forward position upon release thereof after retraction; a device adjustably connecting said sear and said trigger for releasing said sear only upon retraction of said trigger or only upon release thereof and during its return to said normal position as desired; and a control means movable for selectively adjusting said device for causing the release of said sear during the desired directional movement of said trigger.

2. In a firing mechanism including a cocking piece, a single sear for releasably holding said cocking piece cocked, a finger retractable trigger that is spring urged to a normal forward position upon release thereof after retraction; an element connecting between said sear and said trigger for causing movement of said sear out of said holding position upon movement of said trigger to retracted position only; means movable for rendering said element inoperative; and a member arranged and adapted to connect said sear and said trigger for actuation of said sear to release said cockin piece only upon release of said trigger from retracted position when said element is rendered inoperative; said means for rendering said element inoperative being connected with said member for rendering the latter operative immediately upon its said movement for rendering said element inoperative.

3. In a firing mechanism including a cooking piece, a single sear for releasably holding said cocking piece cocked, a finger retractable trigger that is spring urged to a normal forward position upon release thereof after retraction; a device adjustably connecting said sear and said trigger for releasing said sear only upon retraction of said trigger or only upon release thereof and during its return to said normal position as desired; and a control means movable for selectively adjusting said device for causing the release of said sear during the desired directional movement of said trigger; means for releasably securing said control means against accidental movement upon actuation thereof to a position for causing said release of said sear upon retraction or release of said-trigger as the case may be.

4. In a firing mechanism including a cocking piece, a single sear for releasably holding said cockin piece cocked when in holding position, a finger retractable trigger that is spring urged to a normal forward position upon release thereof after retraction; a sear actuating mechanism 'connecting said trigger with said sear for releasing said sear from said holding position upon retraction of said trigger or upon return of said trigger to said normal forward position; a con trol device movable between two predetermined positions and connected with said sear actuating mechanism for rendering the latter operative for releasing said sear only upon retraction of said trigger or only upon release of said trigger according to which one of said two positions said control device has been moved.

5. In a firing mechanism including a cocking piece, a single sear for releasably holding said cocking piece cocked when in holding position, a finger retractable trigger that is spring urged to a normal forward position upon release thereof after retraction; a sear actuating mechanism connecting said trigger with said sear for releasing said sear from said holding position upon retraction of said trigger or upon return ofsaid trigger to said normal forward position; a control device movable to either of two positions for selectively rendering said sear actuating means operative for releasing said sear only upon retraction of said trigger or only upon release of the latter as desired and according to which one of said two positions said device is moved.

6. In a firing mechanism including a cocking piece, a single sear for releasably holding said cockingpiece cocked when in holding position,

a finger retractable trigger that is spring urged to a normal forward position upon release thereof after retraction; a sear actuating mechanism connecting said trigger with said sear for releasing said sear from said holding position upon retraction of said trigger or upon return of said trigger to said normal forward position; a control device movable between two predetermined positions and connected with said sear actuating mechanism for rendering the latter operative for releasing said sear only upon retraction of said trigger or only upon release of said trigger according to which one of said two positions said control device has been moved; said control device comprising a pair of pivots for respectively supporting said sear for pivotal movement about one of two different axes according to the position of said control device, and said sear being movable out of said holding position upon pivotal movement of the sear about either of said axes, said sear actuating mechanism being operable for so pivoting said sear only upon retraction of said trigger when one of said pivots supports said sear and only upon release of said trigger when the others of said pivots supports said sear.

'7. In a firing mechanism including a cooking piece, a single sear for releasably holding said cocking piece cocked, a finger retractable trigger for releasing said sear from its holding position, and which trigger isspring urged to a normal forward position upon release thereof after retraction; a pair of sear actuating elements respectively actuatable by retraction of said trigger or upon return movement of the trigger after such retraction for releasing said sear; control means movable between two positions and connected with said sear actuating elements for rendering one or the other of the latter inoperative according to one of the two positions to which it is moved.

' JOHN G. SEITZ. 

